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A young man stitches decorative seat covers and curtains at the truck art market in Rawalpindi, where he works at his masterâ€™s shop for more than twelve hours a day. Photo / Noor Za Din

Jahan Zeba is a 53-year old unmarried woman living in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She refused to marry a man chosen by her family Arranged marriages are a tradition in Pakistan, where the family chooses a suitable match for their daughter. Jahan chose to live an independent life. Her income depends on the two cows she owns. Photo / Seema Gul

Men pass through a busy market of Saidpur village in Islamabad, where the locals buy their daily vegetables and fruits. People greet the shopkeepers as they continue on their way. The look on the boyâ€™s face as he gazes at the shop is pleasing. Photo / Seba Rehman

In the famous summer resort of Murree, an old man sits at the door of a shop at the mall waiting for someone to give him money. The woman entering the shop wants to give him money, but he is looking into the camera to get his photo taken. Photo / Rizwan Bhittani

The Imam, or worship leader, performs Azan, the Islamic call to prayer, at a local mosque at Hangu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He makes this call five times a day to gather people to the mosque to pray. Photo / Saeed Ullah

Baseer runs a pottery workshop in Jamrud, Khyber Agency, in FATA. He works on a machine pedaled by his feet. Some of his pots are used for drinking water; others are for kids to collect coins called khazana, treasure, in the local language. To get the money out, the children have to break to pot. Photo / Muhammad Khalid Afridi

A mother and daughter work in the fields at a village in the Swat valley. The mother cuts grass, and the 10-year-old daughter carries it for their cattle to eat. This is part of their daily work. Photo / Irfan Ali

In Mohmand Agency, a teacher reads the lesson to her students. The government-run girlâ€™s primary school does not exist anymore, as it was destroyed in a bomb attack by the militants who oppose education for girls. Now these girls come to our house and my mother teaches them at home. Photo / Hina Gul Mohmand

A woman returns home after fetching water in a village in Mohmand Agency (FATA). It is a womanâ€™s task to collect and carry water for domestic use. Village houses usually do not have a direct water supply. Photo / Alamgir Khan

After school, boys head home in Murree. These two brothers hold hands, expressing friendship and bonding. Photo / Faryal Mohmand

An evening election rally in Islamabad Pakistan captures the enthusiasm of the party supporters. This was a huge rally that was a challenge to photograph. Photo / Muhammad Umair

A woman sits on a street corner in the old city neighborhood in Peshawar, waiting for a passerbyâ€™s attention. She does not have any other source of income and is forced to sit and beg. Photo / Ammad Ahmad Khan

This 50-year-old mechanic is known for being able to fix any car problem. Captured during a moment in his busy day, he soon continues his work with dedication. Photo / Hanifullah

It's lunch time for the laborers at the truck art market in Rawalpindi. Inside the workshop they use a bench as a makeshift lunch table. They sit together and share the food they bring from home. (Azmat Ullah)

Children playfully work on their homework after school. They sit in the fields in the evening near their house in a village near Peshawar. Photo / Shah Jehan

In a part of Pakistan where guns are everywhere, 17 young people armed only with cameras are determined to change how the world thinks about their homeland.

This week, the photographers, all from Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas that abuts Afghanistan, showed off their work at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington — displaying vivid portraits of a tough, but seemingly peaceful life, a far cry from the violence depicted in the media.

Hina Gul Mohmand, 25, caught the photography bug early. Her favorite picture is of the government-run primary girls’ school in Mohmand Agency where her mother was a teacher. In it, a teacher, her head and face covered in a black headscarf, reads to an attentive group of girls squatting on a sun-dappled floor.

The school has since been destroyed by the Taliban, Islamic fundamentalists who oppose education for girls. Unfazed, Miss Mohmand’s mother now teaches the girls at her home.

That grit has been passed on to her daughter, who says she is determined to use her camera to fight the Taliban’s campaign.

“Through my photographs, I want to focus on women’s education,” she said.

Miss Mohmand and 16 other photographers have honed their skills at two National Geographic photo camps — in Washington and Islamabad — since 2012. The National Geographic camp is part of an Internews collaboration called “Enabling Progressive Media Voices in Pakistan.”

Faryal Mohmand, 23, who is studying for her master’s degree in economics, believes she can use photography to shine a light on the problems facing her community.

“Photographs are the best way to get my message across,” she said. “If I show a photograph to an illiterate person, even he will understand what I am trying to convey.”

Pakistan’s tribal areas serve as safe havens for an assortment of militant groups, including the Taliban. U.S. drone attacks against suspected terrorists have focused on this region.

Since the start of the drone program, there have been a total of 357 strikes inside Pakistan that have killed militants and as well as civilians, according to the New America Foundation.

Hanifullah, a photographer from Bajaur Agency, says security in his hometown is good, but people want the drone strikes to end.

“We didn’t know who the Taliban were before the first drone strike in Bajaur in 2006,” he said. “After that strike, the Taliban spread all over. If drones could end militancy, it would have ended by now.”

Tribal area residents oppose militancy but want to end it through dialogue, not drones, he said.

Life in the tribal areas is tough. But life for a photographer trying to capture images in a restrained society makes it tougher.

“In Mohmand, where I live, there is no respect for photographers,” said Ammad Ahmad Khan, 18.

The trip to Washington was an eye-opening experience for many of the young photographers.

A Pew Research Center poll released in May found that only 11 percent of Pakistanis have a favorable opinion of the U.S.; 10 percent express confidence in President Obama; and 64 percent see the U.S. as more of an enemy than an ally.

“When I came to America, I realized that Americans don’t hate us. That made me feel good,” said Alamgir Khan, 24, from Mohmand Agency. “The suspicions we have of each other can be removed through interactions between Americans and Pakistanis.”

Muhammad Khalid Afridi, 24, from Khyber Agency, said the trip has changed his perception of the U.S. “It is awesome and the people are lovely,” he said.

Saeed Ullah, 26, from Orakzai Agency basked in the praise from the mingling guests.

“It’s a big achievement to do a photo exhibition in Washington, isn’t it,” he said.